A collection of poetical essays: Consisting of I. An elegy on a pile of sacred ruins; ... VI. Ode to peace, &c. By J.B. of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Table of contents

- [titlepage]

- PREFACE.

- ARGUMENT.

- AN ELEGY ON A PILE of SACRED RUINS.

- ELEGIAC REFLECTIONS, Wrote in the VAULT of ST NICHOLAS' CHURCH, NEWCASTLE.

- FRAGMENT, Supposed to have been written among the RUINS of TINMOUTH CASTLE and MONASTERY, NORTHUMBERLAND.

- ODE, FOR THE NATIVITY of the MESSIAH.

- MIRA's DESPAIR, An ELEGY.

- ODE TO PEACE

- TO HUMILITY.

- EPIGRAPH, ON THE GRAVE, A BEAUTIFUL POEM, so called.

A COLLECTION OF POETICAL ESSAYS.

CONSISTING OF

- I. An ELEGY on a Pile of SACRED RUINS; imitating the Manner of Mr Cunningham's celebrated Elegy.

- II. ELEGIAC REFLECTIONS, written in the VAULT of ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, Newcastle upon Tyne.

- III. FRAGMENT, written among the RUINS of Tinmouth Castle and Monastery.

- IV. ODE for the Nativity of the MESSIAH.

- V. MIRA's DESPAIR, an ELEGY.

- VI. ODE to PEACE, &c.

By J. B. of Newcastle upon Tyne.

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE: Printed by I. THOMPSON, Esq 1765.

And Sold by the BOOKSELLERS in Town and Country.

PREFACE.

CONTEMPLATIONS on the fluctuating Uncertainty of Temporal Things, and the various Evils and Vicissitudes of Human Life, as they have in all Ages claimed the Attention of the good and serious Part of Mankind, so are, in a more particular Manner, beneficial to the INTERESTS of CHRISTIANITY.

They may be considered, I presume, as so many Addenda, to throw Light and moral Confirmation upon those VOLUMES of REVEALED WILL, which, tho' presented to us in the Medium of a critically imperfect Translation, proceed, in their divine ORIGINALS, from the immediate Inspiration of unerring and eternal WISDOM.

By Way of Preface to these ELEGIAC ESSAYS, I have chosen to premise a few Observations of this Kind, which, to me at least, appear the natural Result of every candid and impartial Enquiry after Truth.

Whosoever takes an unprejudiced Survey of the FACULTIES of the HUMAN MIND, must necessarily acknowledge their Constitution to be in many Respects ENIGMATICAL and CONTRADICTORY; and indeed, whether we examine the Public Annals of Society or have Regard to the Private Information of our own Consciences; whether the Characters of the Learned or Illiterate, become Objects of our Consideration; the Truth of this Assertion is made equally clear and conspicuous:—Separately we may discern the same longing Desires after Happiness, and yet voluntary Subjection to Misery; the same boasted imaginary Strength and Weakness, when tested by Experience;—the same Love of Truth, and leaning Credulity towards Error:—In a Word, the same diametrically opposite Inclinations of Virtue and Vice, (tho' varied in Proportion to an endless Variety of Circumstances producing them) may be easily traced through the general Tenor of the Actions of Mankind: and, upon the whole, form so intricate a Knot of Contraricties, as unassisted Reason shall by no Means be able to unloose.

If we further add to this seemingly unaccountable Composition of the MIND, that Multiplicity of Disorders, Pains, and disastrous Accidents to which the BODY stands particularly exposed, we may with Hippocrates almost venture to affirm, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. "The whole Man from his Birth is a Disease." We may exclaim with the Poet,

O LIFE! tremendous Interval of Birth and Death!

Who shall recount thy ILLS? what Hand shall pen

Th' immeasurable Logarithm of Woes,

Mental Anxieties, corporeal Pains,

That 'twixt these solemn Periods intervene.

And, with all possible Justness and Propriety, may denominate MAN, the RIDDLE of the CREATION.

I would infer from these Observations the apparent Necessity of DIVINE REVELATION; how highly it behoves us to listen to the infallible Dictates of this great CONDUCTRESS, whose peculiar Province it is to point out the hidden Causes of all the inevitable Miseries and Misfortunes of Human Life; as also how diffident we ought to be in trusling solely to the Directions of this so much boasted Rational Faculty, which is but mole-ey'd at best, and whose chief Constituent seems to be an inherent Pride, which refuses to put on the CHRISTIAN YOKE; and of consequence secludes us from being Objects of the Favour of the SUPREME BENIGNITY.—This blind Reliance on our own Strength loosens insensibly the Ties of our Dependance upon him who is ALL-SUFFICIENT.—We imperceptibly become ashamed of conversing with him by Prayer;—regard, as Superfluity, the tributary Incense of Gratitude and Praise;—and at length, wilfully shut our Eyes against the mid-day Beams of the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. —Hence Irreligion, Profaneness, groveling Sensuality, and all that black Catalogue of Crimes, which are the evident Marks of the benighted unregenerate Mind;—hence the Beau Monde, the Papilios of the Human Race, place their chief Happiness in contemplating the Finery of their own Dress; the Prude, or Coquette, is more solicitous of Admiration in a brilliant Assembly upon Earth, than studious to adorn herself for the inexpressibly magnificent Assembly of the FIRST-BORN in HEAVEN.

Upon the whole, PRIDE may be justly stiled the Primum Mobile of Evil, the Sire of Sin, the Source of Mischief, and the Bane both of Temporal and Eternal Felicity.

J. B.

ARGUMENT.

ELEGY may be termed, with metaphorical Propriety, the eldest Daughter of Meditation, and highly merits the Veneration of the Learned and Benevolent, as being a Species of the greatly diversified Science of Poetry, every Way adapted to the serious Taste, or solemn Temper of the human Soul. When her Theme contemplates the short Duration of all earthly Grandeur in the awful Ruins of Temples, Towers, and other superb Edifices, become a Prey to Time, we are naturally led by her to a Reflection on the empty Efforts of ambitious Art, the Imbecillity of mortal Power, and the changing Inconstancy and Vicissitude of all sublunary Things.

{inverted ⁂} The public Candour is here more particularly requested, as the following Essays are the first Offspring of a Juvenile Muse, and, on many Accounts of Time, Person, and Circumstance, have been liable to Hinderance and unavoidable Difficulties. If the Attempt merits the least Shadow of Approbation, let the censorious Criticisins of the Injudicious be its Encomium.

AN ELEGY ON A PILE of SACRED RUINS.

The solemn TEMPLES,

Yea! the great Globe itself, and all which it inherit,

Shall dissolve; and, like the baseless Fabrick of a Vision,

Leave not a Wreck behind.

SHAKESP.

I.

IN a lone VILLA, the once-lov'd Retreat,

Where, cloy'd with Crouds, Wealth sought the silvan Shade;

Near the fall'n Rubbish of some rural Seat,

A ruin'd TEMPLE tow'rs its tott'ring Head.

II.

The Moss-grown Walls, high pil'd in Gothic Pride,

Stand, Time-defac'd with many a wide-rent Flaw;

Nor fails the Prospect view'd on every Side,

T'imprint the musing Mind with solemn Awe.

III.

Sadly sequester'd, 'mid the dreary Waste,

A Row of blasted Yew Trees gloom around;

Redoubling Terror, and the Peasant's Haste,

That treads perforce the long-untrodden Ground.

IV.

Soon as cool Ev'ning clos'd the Sun-scorch'd Day,

I left the laughing Throng in thoughtful Mood;

And, where the sacred Scene before me lay,

Thus sigh'd, in aw'd Attention as I stood:

V.

"Ah me! that hoary Time's all-changing Pow'r,

Should this proud Dome, with stealing Pace, pervade;

Where erst Devotion, at th'inraptur'd Hour,

Thro' Faith's fix'd Glass her promis'd Bliss survey'd.

VI.

Ah pitying Change! the swift-wing'd Hours have brought,

To blast the Beauty of devoted Stones;

Which once industrious the first Founder wrought;

A shrin'd Sepulchre to his honour'd Bones!

VII.

Hence now no more shall pious Pray'r ascend,

Nor Sigh repentant from the guilt-gnaw'd Breast;

RELIGION here her solemn Rites shall end,

Nor more th' intruding Spade this Mould molest.

VIII.

Hence now no more the sadd'ning Death-Bell's Note,

Shall knell th' Alarum from this shatter'd Spire;

Nor Song harmonious swell the thrilling Throat,

With praiseful Tribute from th' adoring Choir.

IX.

Where warbled Melody, harsh Ravens brood,

And dusky Bats that shun the lengthen'd Light;

And Eloquence, whence the rais'd Rostrum stood,

Has ceas'd her Charms, and soar'd her banish'd Flight.

X.

Still Silence reigns where once the social Croud

Responsive chaunted to the lauding Lay;

Save when the solitary Owl screams loud,

Or thro' the dun Ile wings her flutter'd Way.

XI.

This labour'd Font mov'd from its marble Base;

(Where once weak Nature lav'd her spotted Stain,

Tho' lower now, still stands a needed Vase,

Whence chatt'ring Sparrows sip the roof-fall'n Rain.

XII.

This high-arch'd Altar, from the rais'd Ascent,

Rears, awf'ly ruinous, its hallow'd Head;

Whence the swift Spider, on wish'd Prey intent,

Now sports her, salient, on the self-spun Thread.

XIII.

Th' Angelic Host, in glittering Gold array'd,

Fictitious colour'd on its pannel'd Oak,

Amid the Triumph ranc'rous Time has made,

'Scapes not the Tyrant's sacreligious Stroke.

XIV.

This Iron Door, fast wedg'd with ranking Rust,

Scarce creaks an Entrance to the vaulted Cave:

Where, wrapt in Lead, the more ennobled Dust

Of MAMMON's Vot'ries found a peaceful Grave.

XV.

A shad'wy Pre-eminence yet remains

In this lone Mansion of illustrious Dead;

Tho' Death, regardless of their wide Demesnes,

Urg'd the shun'd Summons with impartial Dread.

XVI.

This mould'ring Pillar, on its sable Base,

Supports a Mon'ment of superior Art;

Time-unadorn'd from ev'ry finish'd Grace,

Industrious Elegance had deign'd t'impart.

XVII.

Ah what avails it! though ambitious rear'd,

T' aggrandize some honour'd Heroe's Fame;

Where martial Weapons pompously appear'd,

And sculptur'd Sorrow wept the Warrior's Name.

XVIII.

Like all the Pageantry of earth-born Pride,

Like Night-still'd Dew-drops at the solar Ray,

'T hath shrunk oblivious, and on ev'ry Side,

Nods totter'd Ruin from its pillar'd Stay.

XIX.

Vain are the Trophies of a Fun'ral Pile;

The motto'd Monument, or gilded Bust:

Fame's flatt'ring Tale, deep grav'd in golden Stile,

Time shall erase, and moulder into Dust.

XX.

Devouring Time! thou immaterial Space!

That swall'west moving what thy Motion breeds;

Whate'er of visible the Eye can trace,

Or soon, or late, thy destin'd Prey succeeds.

XXI.

The sleecy Moments from thy fruitful Womb,

Tho' teem'd unnum'rous, short liv'd Victims fall;

Alike the rock-reard Tow'r, and trophied Tomb,

Meet Dissolution at thy crumbling Call.

XXII.

Thrice happy he! in calm Contentment's Dale,

Far from Ambition, and Pride's noxious Noise;

That peacef'lly journ'ying thro' Life's varied Vale,

Ne'er war'd thy Worth on empty air-blown Toys.

XXIII.

Not the wish'd Wreath of popular Applause,

Nor all the Joys precarious Wealth e'er lent,

Afford so pleasing, so serene a Pause,

As one reflected Hour in VIRTUE spent.

XXIV.

The tort'ring Rack, the Faggot's fiercest Rage;

Nor all the Engines CRUELTY can devise,

Are half so horr'ble as time-wasted Age,

When grim DEATH's Terrors meet th' enfeebled Eyes.

XXV.

Thou Stage invisible! we all must tread;

Thy ever-varying Scenes anon shall end;

When, awf'ly rousing the long-slumber'd Dead,

Th' ALL-RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, GREAT JESU shall descend.

XXVI.

Him comp'nying from th' empyreal Throne,

A Choir celestial shall in Pomp surround:

The Thoughts secreted of all Hearts be known;

And Thou, in vast Eternity be drown'd.

XXVII.

On that Day, joyous from their atom'd Tomb,

The once-fam'd Founders of this Dome shall rise:

Their dust-blent Bodies from Earth's teeming Womb,

Shall gain, re-animate the blissful Skies.

ELEGIAC REFLECTIONS, Wrote in the VAULT of ST NICHOLAS' CHURCH, NEWCASTLE.[†]

Mista Senum ac Juvenum densantur Funera, nullum

Saeva Caput Proserpina fugit.

HOR.

I.

HERE, CONTEMPLATION! to thy Vot'ry's Aid,

Propitious, sooth the moralizing Soul;

While Melancholy, from the sacred Shade,

Bids mournf'ly slow, the sullen Moments roll.

II.

As pensive thro' the scutcheon'd Iles I stray,

That high o'er-arch'd this hallow'd Temple bound,

Oft lead me on the long-untrodden Way,

Where sleeps fall'n Grandeur on the gloom-wrapt Ground.

III.

Pride's Look elated, and her lofty Mien,

That Sight shall sadden from th'exulting Soar;

And Envy soften'd o'er the solemn Scene,

Shall drop a Tear from plaintive Pity's Lore.

IV.

Pale Terror trembles thro' each curdling Vein,

While harshly opes the iron-bolted Door;

While timid Fancy from the teeming Brain,

Glides fear-form'd Phantoms 'long the letter'd Floor.

V.

How dread lowr's Darkness o'er the low-brow'd Cell!

Where listless Silence unmolested reigns;

Save when slow-sounding from the echoed Bell,

Time knells his Hours in mournf'ly pleasing Strains.

VI.

Save Meditation! when thy moral Muse,

From the shrin'd Porches of St Nicholas' Dome,

This Vault's illustrious Records would peruse,

And sigh her Speculations o'er the Tomb.

VII.

Here sable Solitude has fix'd her Seat,

Sequester'd from the social Scenes of Day;

And mild Humil'ty from this hoar Retreat,

Pours on the tear-thaw'd Soul her lev'ling Lay.

VIII.

DEATH, vengef'ly trampling on the Neck of Pride,

Here grins terrific o'er his triumph'd Spoil;

And Horror guards, with dread-imposing Stride,

Th'unnotic'd Tenants of this lonely Soil.

IX.

Ah how unnotic'd! since the Pomp of Pow'r

No more shall wait them, on attendant Wing;

Nor more convey them to the scented Bow'r,

Where wantons Pleasure on the Lap of Spring.

X.

Nor pamper'd LUXURY, Fiend of Hell!

That wilef'ly poisons as she-pleasures Sense;

Nor Memry's Wail, nor wild-ey'd Sorrow's Yell,

Shall rouse the Lethe-drench'd Slumberers hence.

XI.

The moulder'd Bones this loos'ning Lead unbares,

Wore once, perhaps, the purple Robe of State;

E'er Time had silver'd o'er their honour'd Hairs,

Or weeping Elegy bemoan'd their Fate.

XII.

Or mov'd some softer Female's fair Machinc,

Vibrated sweetly to the Springs of Thought;

Tho' low lies now that lofty-bearing Mien,

Vain Value once and prideful Passion taught.

XIII.

Ah me! how fall'n thy vermeil-tinted Cheek,

Where Beauty bid her blushing Roses glow;

Where Joy in dimpled Smiles had learnt to speak,

Or salt Tears trickled to the Plaint of Woe.

XIV.

E'en back retorted from the crumbling Clay,

To Silence now, and sullen Darkness doom'd:

Loath'd Vision shrinks,—nor heeds the blasted Spray,

Where vivid once soul-thrilling Charms have bloom'd.

XV.

Say, fashion'd Heav'n her featur'd Form in vain,

To sleep the Victim of eternal Death;

Or, settled on her Soul's etherial Train,

The short-liv'd Tenure of moment'ry Breath?

XVI.

Not so Intuition, from th'unbias'd Mind

Shallows the Sapience of omniscient Love;

Nor e'er rapt Revelation thus confin'd

Th' illimitable Bounty from above.

XVII.

His;—who, from Chaos and the Climes of Night,

Where crude Confusion's jarring Atoms howl'd,

Hail'd new-born Beauty to the radiant Light,

That glitter'd from the bright Sun's beamy Gold.

XVIII.

Whose cloud-wrapt Ways, unsearchably secure,

None may unfold, or cast a Glance so high;

Nor pierce th'unbounded Prospect of his Pow'r,

Save rapturing FAITH's perspicient Eye.

XIX.

What then avails vain Sophistry's Debate,

That proudly soars 'bove boasted Reason's Ken;

That impiously intrudes the Realms of Fate,

To pour Deception on the SONS OF MEN.

Notes

†
This Vault is said to have been the Place of Interment for the Perey Family, in past Ages, but without warrantable Authority, as the Shrine of Henry Earl of Northumberland, who was tumultuously massacred at Cockslodge, near York, in the 4th Year of the Reign of Henry VII. is asserted to have been in the North-East Corner, where the beautiful and magnificent Tomb of Sir George Selby lately stood. However, from a Parity of Circumstances, it must undoubtedly have been the Receptacle of some ancient and illustrious Family.
↵

FRAGMENT, Supposed to have been written among the RUINS of [*] TINMOUTH CASTLE and MONASTERY, NORTHUMBERLAND.

**************** Lonely indeed!

'Tis awful! 'tis superbly ruinous!

How chang'd this Scene! ***********

In Lethean Years long, long elaps'd,

The swift-wing'd Bullet of Destruction,

Loud-lab'ring from the brazen Cannon's Womb,

Pierc'd hence with Light'ning Speed, the perv'ous Air,

And roar'd, re-ecchoed from yon murm'ring Main,

Death's thund'ring Summons, and sulphur'ous Call.

How level'd now the lofty Battlements!

The sky-topt Towers and rock-rear'd Batteries!

Impregnable to Military Art!

That ever and anon Time totters now,

And rushes down with dread Precipitation!

********************

********** Uninterrupted Solitude!

The sacred Tenant of this cheerless Shade,

Sequester'd reigns in saddening Silence,

'Amid the hoary Heaps and weed-wrapt Ruins

Of yon old venerable Monast'ry: [*]

Where Times unnumer'd Offspring ceaseless ply,

Hours, Minutes, Moments, in their envious Round,

Defacing the proud Dome Devotion rear'd,

With all its lonesome, long-untrodden Iles,

By erring Superstition erst adorn'd,

With many a Cross and crumbling Relique.

More solemn still the dread-imposing Gloom

This vaulted Cloister yields, pale Terror's Cell!

That traverses now the bramble-wild'ring Waste,

Ev'n unappall'd, tho' Cynthia's silvering Beam

Bright burnishes the Hemisphere of Heav'n.

Ye blasted Efforts of aspiring Art!

Piles! Pillars! shatter'd with a Weight of Years,

Afford, beneath your mould'ring Arches' Shade,

Unenvied, unmolested Privacy,

To the most wretched of the Sons of Woe,

Or suff'ring Victims of supernal Fate,

High o'er whose dreading and distemper'd Head

The Angel of Affliction torrents down

His fiercest Vial of unpit'ying Wrath.

************** call forth

The saline Tear from sullen Sorrow's Eye,

And mournf'ly smooth the haggard, frightful Frown

Of raven-vested Melancholy.

Ah me! that deep o'erwhelms, oppresses dire,

Shocks, sinks, and saddens down my moping Mind,

'Spite of FAITH's Balm, and ev'ry chearful Ray

Of hope-inspiring CHRISTIANITY;

RELIGION's Messenger! last-born and best,

To rouse the sin-stain'd Race of Adam fall'n.

*****************

************ Charnel Ground! [*]

This Place of Skulls, and low-laid Mortals' Graves,

Where sable Mem'ry pours her mourning Wail,

And slowly walks her moralizing Round

'Mong letter'd Stones and marbled Monuments!

Hark! from the leafy Thicket of yon Grove,

What serenading Chorister awakes

The slumb'ring Stillness that surrounds me,

And far 'yond TINMOUTH's Villa distant sounds

To the dull, drowsy Ear of silent Night?

'Tis PHILOMEL!

That sweetly thrills her melodizing Notes,

(Love-lengthen'd) to the listening Moon;

While, save herself, each feather'd Songster sleeps:

— Peace! warbling Innocence!

Thy shrill-tun'd Symphony is lost on me,

Nor aught accords my solitary Taste,

Save the nocturnal Owl's ill-omen'd Scream,

The day-skreen'd Bat, or croaking Raven's Cry,

Frequenting the obscene and ragg'd Retreats,

Where Ruin low'rs, and ven'ming Vermin dwell,

The baneful Asp, and poison-bloated Toad,

Inseparable 'ssociats of DESPAIR,

That ev'n now maddens in my phrenzied Brain,

And points the desp'rate, disobedient Sting

Of Hell-suggested SUICIDE.

— Triumphing o'er me,

Save that the heav'n-born Beam of radiant Hope,

Like this tall Turret's[†] air-illuming Flame,

That blinks to the benighted Mariner

A glimm'ring Passage o'er yon pathless Wave,

Cheers, soothes, supports —

Caetera desunt.

Notes

*
TINMOUTH CASTLE, the Remains of which are now to be seen adjacent to the Mouth of the River Tyne, in Comit. Northumb. was, at the Suppression of Monasteries, in the Reign of Henry VIII. made a Place of Defence and Fortification against Foreign Invasions.—It is situated upon a very high Rock, inaccessible from the East and North, and is every Way so well adapted to the Purposes of War, as sufficiently demonstrates the Military Skill of our Ancestors.
↵

*
This famous Monastery of the Benedictine Order, consisted of a Prior and fifteen Monks; and was suppress'd 12th of January, in the 30th of Henry VIII. being valued at 397 l. 10 s. 5 d. per Annum.
↵

*
A Parish Church formerly stood here, consecrated in the Year 1668, by Bishop Cosyns; and its Burial Ground is at this Day opened for the Interment of such of the deceas'd Inhabitants of Shields, Tinmouth, &c. as have chosen to sleep in so quiet a Sepulchre, and moulder away among such awful Ruins.
↵

†
A Light-house, maintained by the Company of Masters and Mariners, in Newcastle upon Tyne, for the Preservation of Ships in the Night Season.
↵

ODE, FOR THE NATIVITY of the MESSIAH.

Jam nova Progenies Coelo demittitur alto.
VIRG.

I.

SEE, Light streaks the lengthening Lawn!

See, th' auspicious Morning dawn,

That hail'd MESSIAH to our Earth.

When Bethlehem's unnotic'd Plains

Resounded to the Angel Strains

That solemniz'd his BIRTH.

What Time the orient Sun arose,

To chase the Shadows of infernal Night;

To beam Destruction on our Foes,

And chear the Nations with celestial Light.

Blow then the Trump of Joy, ye favour'd Throng!

Since JESU's BIRTH demands our choral Song.

II.

Long-wish'd he comes to solve Sin's Chain,

T'erase the Bond of penal Pain,

That hapless Adam's Fall had wrote;

To sheath the Sword by Justice wav'd,

Thro' Sorrow's Pool his Paths he lav'd,

And PARDON with his BLOOD has bought.

He shuns all Pomp, all Pride disdains,

No Cradle Down his Infant Bosom prest!

Rough Oxen heard his plaintive Strains;

An hay-stuff'd Manger was his softest Rest.

Blow then the Trump of Joy, ye favour'd Throng!

Since JESU's BIRTH demands our choral Song.

III.

And lo! his CHRISTIAN BANNER rear'd,

By Millions lov'd, by Myriads fear'd,

Still waves us to the Rock of Rest;

Come, Criminal, that's smit by Sin,

(He only bids th' Unworthy in)

Soft Pity's Tears bedew his Breast.

He shall wash thine Aethiop Stain,

In swan-plum'd Innocence thou shall appear,

When Time gives up his measur'd Reign,

And vast ETERNITY begins her Year.

Blow then the Trump of Joy, ye choral Throng!

Since JESU's BIRTH demands our annual Song.

MIRA's DESPAIR, An ELEGY.

Each Moment has its Sickle, emulous

Of Time's enormous Scythe; each Moment plays

Its little Weapon in the narrower Sphere

Of sweet Domestic Comfort, and cuts down

The fairest Bloom of sublunary Bliss.

YOUNG.

I.

'TWAS the still Hour of Vesper's shining,

When MIRA sought a Rock's Retreat;

Where oozy Sea-Weeds hang entwining,

And wept salt Tricklings at her Feet.

II.

The wat'ry Waste, Heav'us Concave bounding,

'Gan now with lashing Foam to flow;

And dusky Twilight all-surrounding,

Mourn'd sympathetic to her Woe.

III.

A while in sullen Silence musing,

She lay reflecting Scenes behind:

'Till tort'ring Thought Grief's Rage arousing,

Sigh'd thus her Sorrows to the Wind:

IV.

"Ye clifted Rocks! with Summits soaring,

That high o'erhang this sandy Plain;

Whence softer Streams, in Cat'racts roaring,

Conjoin the salt, caerulean Main.

V.

Within your wave-worn, lone Recesses,

Entomb a Grief-distracted Maid;

Where Terror stalks with startling Tresses,

And Darkness frowns a pitchy Shade.

VI.

And thou, O Deep! that hear'st my Pining,

(Th' unvailing Fume of phrenzied Breath)

'Twas conscious Thou and Fate combining,

That vail'd my Damon's Eyes in Death.

VII.

Him howling Storms, of Life divested,

Have made some hungry Fishes Prey;

And from my Eyes for ever wrested,

On this Side Time's short-during Day.

VIII.

With Light'ning's Speed ev'n now I'll follow

His Shade beyond the Reach of Pain;

Ev'n now the heaving Surge I'll hollow,

And press the Bottom of the Main.

IX.

So icy Death, Heav'n's awful Envoy,

Long-wish'd, shall change my sick'ning State;

And lend a fear-form'd fleeting Convoy,

And waft me to the Realms of Fate.

X.

She ceas'd—for Night's dark Mantle spreading,

Had sably veil'd the vaulted Sky;

Nor social Sound her Sorrows heeding,

Save mocking Echo made Reply.

XI.

DESPAIR her beauteous Bosom rending,

Had now suffus'd Hope's glimm'ring Ray;

When from the rude Rock's Summit bending,

She desp'rate plung'd her headlong Way. [6]

Notes

6
LOVE, or that soft Interchange of Affection between the Sexes, so called, when it acts in due Subordination to the superior Love, Duty, Veneration, and Gratitude, owed Him, who, for wise Purposes, has implanted it in our Breasts, is productive of the most happy and beneficent Effects: But, on the other Hand, when the Possession, or Enjoyment of the Object belov'd is made the summum bonum of our Happiness, may be termed the Origin of much Evil, and an Enthusiasm which too often leads its unhappy Followers, (like Mira in the Elegy) to plunge themselves from the rocky Precipices of Despair into an Ocean of Ruin and irretrieveable Misery.
↵

ODE TO PEACE

I.

HAIL-Born of Heav'n! thou Source of social Store,

Britannia hails thee to her Sea-girt Shore,

With laurel'd Wreaths and Conquest crown'd;

Her Rights regain'd by Vict'ry's valiant Band,

She bows obedient to thine Olive Wand,

And courts firm Concord all around.

II.

Fan'd by Ambition Gallia's tow'ring Pride,

Sought o'er her envicd Empire to preside,

And with despotic Rigour reign;

On Indian Plains the wide-waved Banner rear'd

Of hostile Discord, and in Arms appear'd

To discompose thy mild Domain.

III.

But awful Justice, Heav'n's Vice-gerent, weigh'd.

The faithless Insult, and her Sword display'd,

As th' impartial Balance hung:

Forc'd collcagu'd Monarchs, drench'd in Sorrow's Brine,

To cringe as Suppliants at thy sacred Shrine,

And Slaughter's Blood-stain'd Bow unstrung.

IV.

Then hence dire War! to savage Shores retreat,

Where Tyranny supports the Tartar's Seat,

Or Slav'ry clanks her Ott'man Chain:

Henceforth no more thy firm-embattled Bands,

Shall stain with Crimson Gore Europa's Lands.

But lasting Peace irruptur'd reign.

TO HUMILITY.

HAIL Humility, Virgin pure!

From thy rosy rural Bower,

Deign thy Influence t' impart:

From Wisdom's Lore thy Lesson lend,

That can'st Delight with Knowledge blend,

And bow the Iron-sinew'd Heart.

So shall for thee the plaited Primrose twine,

And scented Sweet-Briar deck thy sacred Shrine.

EPIGRAPH, ON THE GRAVE, A BEAUTIFUL POEM, so called.

WHEN EPITAPHS, Etch'd upon Brass,

Shall quit their worn Charge, and deeline;

And Time the tall Tablets erase,

Where Fame's gilded Flatt'ries shine:

The Lines of this Truth-letter's GRAVE,

(Where Frailty distills the sad Tear,)

Just Judgment and Merit shall save,

And MEM'RY transmitted, revere.

FINIS.

Information about this book

Title statement

A collection of poetical essays: Consisting of I. An elegy on a pile of sacred ruins; ... VI. Ode to peace, &c. By J.B. of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Brand, John, 1744-1806.

Publication

Distributor

University of Oxford Text Archive
Oxford University Computing Services
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Oxford
OX2 6NN
ota@oucs.ox.ac.uk

ID [ota]

http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/5018

ID [isbn10]

1106020170

ID [isbn13]

9781106020178

ID [TCP]

K094198.000

ID [BIBNO]

cw3312218475

ID [ECLL]

0388401400

Availability

Distributed by the University of Oxford under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Source

— A collection of poetical essays: Consisting of I. An elegy on a pile of sacred ruins; ... VI. Ode to peace, &c. By J.B. of Newcastle upon Tyne., Brand, John, 1744-1806.. [4],18,[2]p. ; 2⁰. Newcastle upon Tyne :: printed by I. Thompson, Esq; 1765. And sold by the booksellers in town and country,. 1765.. [J.B. = John Brand.] [Reproduction of original from the British Library.] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCT117553.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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